Officials with the Kent County Health Department say three people voluntarily quarantined themselves after returning to the United States from China. There is a current outbreak of coronavirus in China.
Steve Kelso, the communications manager for the health department, said this is not atypical for the health department while a major virus is occurring. He said the department has been monitoring the three individuals since Sunday.
The individuals voluntary quarantined themselves, Kelso said. The health department is in daily contact with each of the three people.
The health department has created a website for information about coronavirus.
The department also said, that the relative risk of contracting coronavirus is small in comparison to the flu. The CDC says that the flu has killed 12,000 people in the U.S. this flu season.
The coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China and continues to expand. Earlier this year five people from three counties in Michigan were tested for the virus but all the results were negative.
Twelve people tested positive for the respiratory illness in the U.S. and 68 cases are still being tested. Two neighboring states to Michigan have residents who have tested positive for the virus: Illinois and Wisconsin.
The first American citizen died from the virus Saturday at a hospital in Wuhan, China.
Worldwide, 28 countries have people who tested positive for the disease. There have been over 40,000 cases and over 1,000 people who have died from the disease on China's mainland.
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